Motera Test: India thrash England, go 1-0 up

India beat England by nine wickets in the opening Test in Motera on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

Needing a modest 77 in the second innings for victory, the hosts cruised home in just under 16 overs, losing Virender Sehwag's (25) wicket en route.

- Scorecard

Cheteshwar Pujara (41 not out) and Virat Kohli (14 not out) ensured there were no further hiccups.

It was India's first Test win over England in four years, since Sachin Tendulkar starred in a six-wicket win in Chennai. In the five Tests thereafter, India drew one in Mohali while getting whitewashed (4-0) on tour last year.

The win in Motera also helped India maintain an incredible record of haing never lost a single Test at home after a century stand in the first innings of the match -- 134 by Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in this case.

Of the 12 times they had a century stand in the first innings, India won eight and drew four.

Earlier, India made vital breakthroughs to eventually end English resistance on the fifth morning. The visitors were bowled out for 406 in their second innings.

The English batsmen hung on for 26.3 overs in the morning, adding 66 runs to their total before being dismissed.

Alastair Cook (176) and Matt Prior (91) saw their resistance come to an end at the hands of Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner being the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of four for 120 -- and match figures of nine for 165.

Morning session (66 runs, 26.3 overs, 5 wickets)

England started the day on a confident note, a square drive by Matt Prior off Zaheer's second over giving a hint of the confidence they had gained by batting the whole of the fourth day.

A single by Alastair Cook in Zaheer's fourth over brought up the 150-run partnership for the sixth wicket. Another single by Cook in the next over by Pragyan Ojha helped the visitors reach the 350-run mark.

For the first 35 minutes in the morning it was smooth sailing for England.

Then Ojha struck, in the 10th over of the day, having Prior (91) caught and bowled.

Prior's 225-ball knock was inclusive of 11 boundaries. He and his captain put on 157 runs for the sixth wicket. He was unlucky to miss out on a century.

Having said that, it was a silly shot that ended his resistance.

Four overs later, Ojha struck for a second time in the day. And on this occasion he got hold of the big fish.

It was an unfortunate dismissal, as the ball kept very low. Yet the records will show that Cook (176) was bowled.

The England captain's 374-ball knock was inclusive of 21 fours; he batted for a whopping 560 minutes.

It was Ojha's fourth wicket of the innings, the ninth of the match.

Two overs later, Umesh Yadav (bowling his second over of the day) got his third wicket of the innings, catching Stuart Broad (3) off his own bowling.

The English wickets suddenly fell like ninepins; the innings was in complete disarray.

An otherwise listless R Ashwin also helped himself to a wicket in the process. A miscued reverse sweep by Graeme Swann (17) saw his middle stump rattled.

Swann's 31-ball knock was inclusive of two boundaries and a six; he helped Tim Bresnan put on 28 runs for the ninth wicket.

Zaheer had Bresnan (20) caught by substitute Ajinkya Rahane at cover to end the English second innings.

Post-lunch session (80 runs, 15.3 overs, 1 wicket)

With just 77 needed, Pujara was promoted to open the innings with Sehwag.

The young batsman was up to the task, hitting Swann for three boundaries and James Anderson for another.

Sehwag joined the party with a boundary off Swann, followed by a six off Samit Patel. The two put on a 57-run stand for the opening wicket.

However, another attempt to clear the fence, off Swann, cost Sehwag his wicket, Kevin Pietersen taking a spectacular catch at the long-on boundary.

It was Swann's sixth wicket for the match, the only England bowler to make an impression.

Pujara and Kohli ensured India eased home without further damage.

The comprehensive nature of India's win means England have to do some serious re-thinking if it wants to avoid further humiliation in the series. Worse still, they shouldn't expect any better wicket.